The Man Who Planted Trees

Rating:
Summary: pleasure.....
Review: I heard about this book for the first time in 40 years at a dinner in my appartment in Guyana, south america. I had invited Mike, a South African friend, who mentioned this book, indicating that he loved it and that he read it every two months. I just recorded the name of this book in my memory. The next day, I found myself in a restaurant, in Georgetown, when a british friend, talking about some experience in the bush in Brazil, mentioned this same book. Intrigued, having heard about an unknown book two days in a row, I went on Amazon. com and looked for the book.

I was then surprised to find out that this was in fact a french book. Being french myself, I knew of Jean Giono but had never read anything from him.

This book is fabulous. In the same line as "Le Petit Prince" from St. Exupery or "Jonathan Livingstone, Seagull".

I have since bought five books of "The Man who planted trees" and offered it to friends. I am ordering today another 7.

"The Man Who Planted Trees" is exceptional by its simplicity. It talks about life and the importance to make a contribution in our life.

I would recommend this book to anyone. In the meantime, I continue to plant trees....

Rating:
Summary: a truly inspiring tale
Review: I was given an audio tape of this haunting story narrated by Paul Lurtsema with background music by Paul Winter. I'd never heard of the story or author before. I found the combination of words, voice and music deeply moving, and felt it showed me a parable of what I could achieve with my own life. I am a solitary teacher and therapist. Like the man in the story, I experience my work as "planting seeds" and usually don't knowing whether they bloom or not. That may be why this was so meaningful a parable for me. I recommend the audio "multi-media" version of this beautiful story to anyone interested in taking their own life serieously, or wanting to suggest that treasure to another person without preaching.
My true rating would be ten stars!

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: In many readers' lives there are a few books, or maybe only one, which serve as touchstones. They define us like our most vivid memories do. Not many books or stories deserve that kind of devotion, but this one does. It isn't timeless - it's deeply rooted in 20th century France - but its honest treatment of the time and place is one of the things that makes it universal.

There are dozens of facets that could be highlighted in a review, but the one I find most compelling is Giono's treatment of a man alone and how he is yet connected to the world around him. Even a solitary figure can contribute to the birth and health of a community. It's not clear why he does his work, but it's clear that the work is good.

There is such hope here, but no easy palliative. It is a call to lifelong diligence in the service of something good, and important and bigger than ourselves.

Rating:
Summary: Giono is a lyrical master comprable to Ovid
Review: In this parable of Elazard Bouffier, Giono paints a picture of hope. A quiet hope for the future, resting on the solid principles of classical learning, humanism and sound ecological thinking.

Reading this book is like a run through the forest, like diving in tall grass and listening to crickets during summer. This slender volume is one of the most magnificant works of literature ever produced.

Rating:
Summary: A little book to read and re-read
Review: Jean Giono's inspiring little book "The Man Who Planted Trees" explores the contrast between earth husbandry and war-mongering, succeeding on nearly every level. The true power in the work is in it's simplicity, mirrored in Michael McCurdy's wonderfully detailed black-and-white wood engravings which illustrate the work.

In a well-written afterword, Norma Goodrich explores Giono's linkage of literature as a balm for hopelessness with a dream to reforest the earth (which may sound like a bit of a stretch, and requires a descent to humanistic sappiness, alas).

This book should appeal to readers of all ages.

Rating:
Summary: A very inspiring book
Review: Jean Giono's inspiring story of the "man who planted trees" reached me some days ago as a birthday gift from my two sons.They thought it an appropriate gift for me probably because I am now engaged in an effort to grow trees in some land which I bought as a barren waste land. I found the book extremely inspiring.The interesting thing is that there indeed are unsung heroes and heroines in many parts of the world who do do such inspiring work without thought of reward.Some months back I read in Indian newspapers about a poor couple in the Karnatak state of India who decided to plant trees to assuage their sorrow in being childless.As they had no land of their own they decided to plant trees on the roadside.And ended up with magnificent avenue trees on miles and miles of the road near their village. There still seems to be hope for mankind!

Rating:
Summary: A very inspiring book
Review: Jean Giono's inspiring story of the "man who planted trees" reached me some days ago as a birthday gift from my two sons.They thought it an appropriate gift for me probably because I am now engaged in an effort to grow trees in some land which I bought as a barren waste land. I found the book extremely inspiring.The interesting thing is that there indeed are unsung heroes and heroines in many parts of the world who do do such inspiring work without thought of reward.Some months back I read in Indian newspapers about a poor couple in the Karnatak state of India who decided to plant trees to assuage their sorrow in being childless.As they had no land of their own they decided to plant trees on the roadside.And ended up with magnificent avenue trees on miles and miles of the road near their village. There still seems to be hope for mankind!

Rating:
Summary: Improve the World: Read this Book
Review: Read it in 30 minutes. Read it to your children at bedtime. That's another 30 minutes. The world will be better for both efforts. It's as simple as that.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent for both children and adults
Review: The book basically is a story about how even a single person can make a big difference in the world. If you want to make the world a better place, you can start with onself. Although the odds may seem overwelming, persistance and patience prevail. It proves that brilliance is necessary to explain complex issues simply.

The video is also excellent for children below the reading level. It is a kind of stop animation done with pastells, I really like how the artist makes a beautiful simplistic video explain an issue that could be construed as complex.

Rating:
Summary: Will inspire you and your children to care for nature.
Review: The Man Who Planted Trees is the tale of Elzeard Bouffier, a man who, after his son and wife die, spends his life reforesting miles of barren land in southern France. Bouffier's planting of thousands and thousands of trees results in many wondrous things occurring, including water again flowing in brooks that had been dry for many years. The brooks are fed by rains and snows that are conserved by the forest that Bouffier planted. The harsh, barren land is now pleasant and full of life.

Written by Jean Giono, this popular story of inspiration and hope was originally published in 1954 in Vogue as "The Man Who Planted Hope and Grew Happiness." The story's opening paragraph is as follows:

"For a human character to reveal truly exceptional qualities, one must have the good fortune to be able to observe its performance over many years. If this performance is devoid of all egoism, if its guiding motive is unparalleled generosity, if it is absolutely certain that there is no thought of recompense and that, in addition, it has left its visible mark upon the earth, then there can be no mistake."

The Man Who Planted Trees has left a "visible mark upon the earth" having been translated into several languages. In the "Afterword" of the Chelsea Green Publishing Company's edition, Norma L. Goodrich wrote that Giono donated his story. According to Goodrich, "Giono believed he left his mark on earth when he wrote Elzeard Bouffier's story because he gave it away for the good of others, heedless of payment: 'It was one of my stories of which I am the proudest. It does not bring me in one single penny and that is why it has accomplished what it was written for.'"

This special edition is very informative. Not only does it contain Giono's inspirational story, which is complemented beautifully by Michael McCurdy's wood engraving illustrations and Goodrich's informative "Afterword" about Giono, but it also contains considerable information about how wood and paper can be conserved in the section "The WoodWise Consumer." Goodrich writes about Giono's effort to have people respect trees.

"Giono later wrote an American admirer of the tale that his purpose in creating Bouffier 'was to make people love the tree, or more precisely, to make them love planting trees.' Within a few years the story of Elzeard Bouffier swept around the world and was translated into at least a dozen languages. It has long since inspired reforestation efforts, worldwide."

The Man Who Planted Trees is not only a wonderful story, it will inspire you and your children to care for the natural world.

-Reviewed by N. Glenn Perrett